I Promise
by e1nav57
Summary: They will be together in the end, no matter where the end may be.


**I Promise**

She moves her foot back and forth, creating ripples in the once peaceful pond. Her hair is down, like the way it was when she awakened in this white world. And it blew, strands flying from the force of the wind. She looks around her, and sees nothing but grass. Grass everywhere.

She sighs peacefully, and closes her eyes. That's when all the memories flood in, and she can see them all so clearly—like a giant screen playing inside her head.

Team Gai meeting for the very first time.

Team Gai training.

The chuunin exams, where she had met her friends.

Naruto, Shikamaru, and all the others, the people she loved.

The missions, and the joy she felt afterwards.

And then, even more vividly, she remembers him. No. She remembers _them_. Together.

She remembers his silent smiles, the ones only she could see. She remembers the nights they would both lie in the grass. She remembers the kiss they first shared, the kiss no one knew about. And she remembers her hands in his, his laugh when they were alone, his body enveloping hers. She remembers the moments they shared, the ones only for them.

And she remembers the night when she last saw him, the night before the war. They slept on the same bed, like they had millions of times before, in missions and in trainings. But tonight was different. Tonight he was scared. He was scared for her. Tenten, was all he said, before wrapping his arms around her. Be careful tomorrow. Please, he whispered so softly. And she looked at his eyes, and saw the worry there. She touched his cheek, as if trying to remove the pain he felt. She felt like crying, then, because she was also scared for him. But she couldn't cry, and she couldn't tell him that. She couldn't tell him how afraid she felt. How she couldn't bear it if he-

Don't, she says to him, instead. I can take care of myself. And she wishes he was alright now, but still she sees the worry there, she still sees his eyebrows furrowed and his pale eyes locked on her, trying to memorize her face. Here, she said as she took his hand. Let's make a promise, yeah? I promise, that after I kick out all those butts, I will go to Neji Hyuga, alive and breathing, and give him a kiss, and tell him I love him, and tell him he didn't have to worry. She grinned. Then asked, do you promise the same? He smiled, finally, and entwined his finger with her waiting pinkie, and kissed her softly on the forehead. I promise, he whispered to her, before his lips met hers.

Then Tenten's eyes snap open. And a tear falls from her eyes. Because she remembers what happened in the war. She remembers seeing him down in the ground, and she remembers shouting at Lee, and Lee holding her while he himself shook from the weight of what they had lost. She remembers Gai's tears, as he knelt beside Neji. She remembers the blood, and the pain.

And she feels weird. Because this was the first time she had felt pain in this white world. She hadn't felt any sadness and regret, until now.

She didn't even feel anything when she remembers the kunai that had hit her right at the chest, a few years later. She does not feel anything when she thinks of how life had left her and the darkness afterward.

And then she hears the first voice she heard in this white world.

"Hey,"

She looks, and there he is. His hands are in his pocket. He was staring at her, and she smiles, because she had missed that look.

"Hey," she replies.

He steps closer, his hair blowing in wisps, just like hers. "You're here,"

She nods, and pats the stone next to her. "I guess I am,"

He doesn't sit yet, but still his eyes are on hers. "I always did get to places faster than you."

"I was the slow runner."

This time, it is he who smiles, and he finally walks toward her, and sits on the stone. "I'm sorry," his voice is sad, and alone. Nothing like when they were together. "I didn't mean to leave you that one time; I didn't want to see you cry. I didn't want to leave you alone. And...I broke our promise."

She shakes her head furiously, and squeezes his hand. "Neji..."

"I'm sorry," he continued.

She tilts his chin, so his eyes were on hers and hers on him. "Do you want to know why I was such a slow runner?"

He doesn't reply, but she still sees the sorrow in his eyes.

"I was always the slow one, but it never mattered to me. Because I knew you would be there when I finally arrived." She smiles again. "It was because I loved seeing you there waiting for me. That kept me running, even when I was so tired."

And he finally places his hand on her cheek, so softly, as if he would hurt her. And slowly, he leans forward, and puts his lips on hers, and they both feel the happiness again, the one thing that had always been missing since that day he died. Then they break apart, and he entwines his pinkie with hers. "I love you Tenten, you never should have worried about me," he tells her.

She smiles, because she knows that he knows how she couldn't sleep the night before it all happened. He knows she wanted to savor the time they had together. He knows that the promise was more for him, than for her. And she leans in for another kiss, and finally she feels peace because they don't have to worry anymore in this white world they are in. And she realizes their promise was never broken, it only took a while to be kept.

**END.**

**Author's Note: **The news devastated me. Neji was more than a character, he opened my door to writing, and I don't think I can ever forget something like that. I know I haven't posted in almost or even more than a year, but I just had to bring this out. :( This may be the last I'll ever write for the NejiTen fandom, unless I ever get motivated again. This was the story I wrote because I believe Neji and Tenten will be together in the end, no matter where the end may be.


End file.
